In our time of Dying
by supernaturalstuffrocks
Summary: Based after the episode Celebration Day. Red had a heart attack, but what if he hadn't made it. How would everyone handle it, how will Eric deal with it?
1. Chapter 1

I just watched that episode and had this thought. What if Red had died. I mean I like Red and all, but it was just a thought. Well read and enjoy, I am a quick updater, so review and Ill update quickly.

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Eric stood at the small wooden podium frozen, his ability to speak had been taken away. He stared at the many people around him. He felt void of any real emotion, his mother sat in the front, tears streaking down her face, sobbing in Laurie's shoulder. Donna sat beside Kitty, tears going down her face as she stared in Eric's eyes. Jackie sat beside Hyde, crying on his shoulder. Hyde held her tight, his arm around her arm. Kelso and Fez sat beside Hyde, their faces solemn.Eric stood there looking at everyone he cared about, but someone was missing, today was supposed to be a day of celebrating, the whole gang had graduated, but the day had ended in tragedy.

Eric still remembered when Laurie jumped forward telling Red that she had married Fez just to keep him from leaving the country, but it had been too much for Red's heart to take. Eric recalled the day perfectly.

_

* * *

They had just returned from a camping trip gone wrong and had unfortunetly missed their own graduation. They were tired, agravated, and smelly from the ride home in the back of a pig wagon. Laurie had just told Red that she had married Fez. Eric had laughed at Red's face until he began holding his arm. "Dad are you ok?"_

_Red's face seemed uncertain. "Uh yeah, I'm fine. My arm just hurts._

_Kitty knew what was happening, her face filled with fear. "Red Red, you're all clammy. Red I think you are having a heart attack." _

Kelso came over. "No. Open your eyes. He's having an arm attack."

_"Micheal-"

* * *

Kitty pushed Micheal away. "Micheal get a chair. Laurie call an ambulance."_

Eric had then watched as his mom rode to the hospital with his dad in the ambulance. Eric took the Vista Cruiser and drove Laurie, Donna, Jackie, and Fez, while Hyde took Kelso in his car. Eric and Laurie paced around the room while their mom was with their dad in the emergency room.

Donna sat with Jackie, neither saying a word while Hyde leaned against the wall. Even Kelso knew the seriousness of the situation and kept quiet.

They waited three hours for news, when Kitty walked in, tears rolled down her cheeks. Eric walked over and caught his mom as she collapsed sobbing. Laurie covered her mouth and began crying, she leaned her head against the wall, just sobbing. Donna walked over and hugged Eric and Kitty, she was also crying. Kelso walked over. "Laurie." His voice sad. Laurie turned and hugged him tightly, just sobbing in his chest. Jackie cried on Hyde's shoulder and Fez stood against the wall, he wasn't crying, but he felt so sad. They had lost a great man, they had lost Red Forman.

Those few days after Red's death had been so hard on everyone, but especially Kitty. She hadn't stopped crying since the emergency room scene. Eric went through those days in a daze, it hadn't really sunk in. Everyone he expected to see Red sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper and calling him a dumbass. Comfort from Donna was the only thing that kept him going, what mades things worst was that his dad had finally told him he was proud of him days before he died. Red had finally told Eric the words that he had been waiting for years, proof that he was't a total disappointment to his father.

* * *

Eric looked down at the coffin, in it lay the shell of his father, his spirit already gone. He had been laid to rest in a red cherry oak coffin. Thirty people had attended the funeral, everyone had been shocked to learn of his death.

His hands were cold and sweaty and he stood at the podium, still unsure of what to say. His mom had asked him to deliver the eulogy, but Eric wasn't sure what to say about his dad. He had alway loved his dad, but love was always a hard thing to talk about with his dad.

He leaned close to the microphone. "Um, well..."He cleared his throat. "I don't really know what all to say about my dad, I mean he was...well...he hated the french." He let out a forced laugh, but no one laughed as well.

"Ok, well Red's death was a shock to all of us and I know we are all going to miss his...cheery outlook on life and his encouraging remarks."

Although Red and Eric had a lot of hard times, I mean a lot of hard times, he still had some good times with his old man. "I know I really miss him." With that said, Eric stepped down from the podium into Donna's arms.

The preacher got up and gave a short sermon before concluding the funeral. Everyone went by red's coffin to pay their last respects before he was buried. Hyde took a moment. He took a breath. "Well Red, you were a hardass, but you took me in, even when you didn't have to, even when you didn't want to. I may not have said this enough, but thanks." He walked off with this head down, his arm around Jackie's shoulders.

Fez said a few words of good bye then walked off, followed by Kelso. Donna ran her hand over the smooth coffin. "I'm sorry Red."

Donna then let go of Eric's hand and helped Kitty walked out of the church, leaving Eric alone with the coffin. "Hey dad, I know you and I never really talked and although I know it was partly my fault, it was yours too. I mean you had to be such a tough guy all the damn time. As many times as I needed those kicks in the ass, I needed some affirmation from you as well." that was when reality sunk in and the tears came. "Damnit dad, I needed you and now you're gone." He pounded his fist on the coffin. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Laurie standing there, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes puffy from crying. She ddin't say anything about eric's outburst, she simply put her arms around Eric and both siblings stood next to their father's coffin and just sobbed.


	2. Chapter 2

I thank you for your kind reviews and hope u continue to read my story. Please review and I will update really fast.

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Eric stood with his hands folded, his face grim as he watched his father's casket being lowered slowly into the ground. All his mind could scream was _this is all wrong! _The sky seemed to reflect Eric's mood, it had at first been merely clouded, but then with a calp of thunder, the rain came pouring down.

Kitty watched the coffin, a dead look in her eyes. A part of her had died that day, a large part of her. How would she get along without the love of her life right there beside her. Although Red had a rough side, he had a soft side as well that he usually only showed to Kitty, the side that made her fall in love with him in the first place. He had stuck with her no matter what, even when she put him through hell during her menopausal rages. Kitty felt a small petite hand touch her arm and looked over at her daughter's face, Laurie didn't say anything to her mom, she just touched her arm in comfort.

Laurie didn't want to believe that he daddy was dead and although no one knew this, she blamed herself. It had been her crazy news that had sent Red to the hospital and all Laurie wanted was to let her daddy know that she was sorry. Sorry for all the hell she had put him through with going to Chicago and not even calling, she should have been with him damnit!

Donna stood next to her father, her heart went out to Eric, Laurie, and Kitty. Although she never really had any profound moments with Red, she had liked him and respected him in most things. He had been a good man, honest and hard working and her father's best friend. Donna put a hand to her stomach and watched the casket be lowered into the ground. _I'll miss you Red, you would have made a great grandpa._

Hyde was not taking Red's death well. When his dad had left, Hyde hadn't cried, when his mom had bailed, he hadn't cried, but now as he watched Red's coffin hit the ground, it all let loose. No one could hear his quiet sobs but Jackie, she turned around and hugged him tightly. Red had been a father figure to Hyde that hadn't bailed no matter how many times Hyde had screwed up and how had Hyde repayed him, by doing more screwed up things! Hyde just wished he could have had one more chance to tell Red. "Thank you for not bailing on me and I'm sorry." Kelso came up behind Hyde and put his hand on his shoulder, not having anything really helpful to say.

Before they started covering the casket with dirt, Kitty and Laurie laid a red rose each on the casket. Eric knelt down and placed a small folded up piece of paper on the casket. They all three backed up and dirt began to fill the hole, making everyone realize that Red was truly gone.

Once again Kitty collapsed sobbing, Eric rished to catch her, but for the first time ever, she pushed Eric away from her. Eric was stunned, but only for a moment. Maybe she blamed him. The thought occured to Eric and he couldn't take it, he took off into the downpour, running blindly through the cemetary, just wanting to die.

Hyde walked over and helped Kitty to her feet, supporting her enough to get her into the car. Jackie got in the car beside Kitty and Kitty just cried on her shoulder. Hyde then closed the door and turned to see Donna standing there. Her eyes said it all. _Go and find Eric before he does something stupid._ Hyde nodded. "Get yourself out of the rain, I'll go find Forman." Donna nodded and got into the drivers seat. She started the engine and all threee women drove away from the cemetary.

Hyde didn't care about the rain, it didn't really bother him. He swerved around the gravestones, searching for his friend. He knew what Eric was thinking, he had seen it in his eyes after Kitty had pushed him away. He blamed himself for Red's death and knowing Eric, he was about to do something really stupid.

He followed his instinct, just hoping he would find Eric soon.

* * *

Eric sat amongst the gravestones, his heart racing wildly in his chest. He couldn't go back home, not with his mom. It was now that he agrred with his initial thought, it was his fault that Red had died. If he hadn't been so persistent to get married, then to move out, this probably would have never happened. How could Eric live with himself when he knew that?

He realized he couldn't and didn't want to either. 


	3. Chapter 3

I am glad u liked that chapter. I am not normally one for dark and painful stories, but when I had this idea, I went with it. Please review, for reviews are the only joy this writer gets. I will update after I get a good amount of reviews. SO READ, ENJOY, AND REVIEW!!!

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Hyde heard sobbing a little ways ahead and knew that Eric was close by. The sun had set a half hour ago and Hyde was freezing cold, soaked to the bone. The sky had turned dark, occasional burst of lightening was the only light Hyde had to work with. He had never expected it to take this long to find Forman and knock some sense into him. What he saw surprised the hell out of him.

Eric stood on the edge of a small cliff, literally. He stared over the edge, a look of deep pain in his eyes. Hyde knew that it was a long way down and that Eric had no reservations of jumping, not after what happened with Kitty. Hyde kept his voice as gentle as he could make it. "Forman."

Eric heard his name and turned to see Hyde standing in the pouring rain, staring at Eric with a look that made Eric nearly jump then and there, it was a look of pity. He didn't need or want pity, what he needed was a way to escape the guilt and hurt he felt inside and he had found that way out. "Stay back Hyde." His voice shook, not only from the cold, but from the shakiness of his desicion. His vision blurred as he peered over the side, below was a long fall, ending abruptly on a rocky shore, just beside the lake. Never before had Eric ever thought of ending his life, but Red's death had changed so many things.

"Come on Forman, don't be stupid. Killing yourself isn't the answer" Hyde moved closer, if he could get close enough, he could grab Eric away from the ledge and tackle him to the ground until he could talk sense into the pain stricken boy.

Eric took another step towards the ledge. "I mean it Hyde, stop now or I'm jumping."

"You really think this is what Red would want?" Hyde asked, still moving towards him.

Eric fully turned towards Hyde, tears falling down his cheeks, he truly was a heart breaking sight to see. "Don't give me that bullshit, what Red wants doesn't really matter, he's dead because of me."

Hyde was right beside Eric now as Eric broke down again, but he knew that he had to be tough with Eric, only until they were away from the ledge. "Dude, you think you are the only one here, you're not the only one who lost Red, we all did." Eric looked up at Hyde and just stared off into space. What he was thinking, Hyde couldn't even guess.

Eric's mind took him back to when Kitty had signed Eric and Red up for a father/son competition. Both Red and Eric had hated the idea and had fought through most of it, though not with the other teams but with each other. After a few competitions though, things between the two changed for the better, they gained some trust in each other skills and Eric felt like he had a father and not a drill sargent. All Eric wanted was to hear his father's words. "I'm proud of you."

Eric came out of his daze and stared at Hyde for a moment. "If I hadn't made some of the screwed up desicions, then Red would still be here to kick my ass."

Hyde shook his head, having to shout now because of the rain and thunder. "Bullshit, you are just looking for a way out, well if you aren't going to think of your skinny ass, then think of your mother and Donna and everyone else. Don't you think we have been through enough crap? Your mom's had her heart ripped out, you killing yourself out of guilt may kill her altogether and what about Donna?"

"What about Donna?" Eric hadn't thought about how his mom would take his suicide, he didn't want to hurt her anymore then she already was hurting.

"She's pregnant you dumbass!" Hyde covered his mouth, he had spilled the secret that Donna had sworn him to keep. Donna had been planning on telling Eric once they moved to Madison. She had come crying to Hyde when she had found out, scared to death, then had sworn Hyde to secrecy.

Eric was in complete shock, why hadn't Donna told him? A bolt of lightening made both boys jump up in the air, the slippery grass made it hard to stand. Eric screamed as he began falling backwards, over the edge. Hyde grabbed at Eric's shirt, but he had no traction and he too slipped over the edge.

* * *

Donna sat in Eric's living room with Kitty, Laurie and Jackie. Kitty was still crying, but her sobs had quieted down a bit. None of the women could really think of anything to say to each other, the taxing day had left them all physically and emotionally exhausted. Both Jackie and Laurie had stopped crying and were both yawning. Donna rubbed her stomach, she had found out she was pregnant a month ago, but had been afraid of telling anyone. Now it seemed too strange to say now. 

The only person who knew was Hyde, Donna had been afraid to tell Eric, she had started to, but then had said she was joking because they both were in front of Red and Kitty. She couldn't get through the pregnancy alone, she needed everyone's support, she needed Eric. Where was Eric and Hyde, they should have come back by now, it was nearly midnight.. Donna had a bad feeling. The phone rang, causing all four women to jump. Kitty ignored it, believing it to be some person offering their condolances, but Donna knew somehow that it was important. She got up off Red's chair and went into the kitchen to answer the phone. "Hello?"

A deep male voice responded. "Excuse me, is this the Forman's residence?"

"Um, yeah."

"May I speak with the mother of Eric Forman?" Donna's heart plummeted. _No, please don't be hurt Eric._

"What's wrong, is he hurt, where is he?" Donna's panicky voice brought Jackie into the kitchen, but Donna's full attention was on the phone.

The man's voice paused for a moment. "I am sorry, we can only discuss this with family members."

"Don't piss me off mister, I'm his damn fiancee and I want to know what happened to him or so help me God..."

"Ok ok, calm down Miss. Eric Forman was brought into the emergency room a few moments ago along with another young man, it seems they both fell from the cemetary ledge."

Donna dropped the phone and fell to the ground, what had Eric done, not only was he hurt, but Hyde was as well. Donna's face was pale. Jackie took the phone. "What's going on?"

"We need someone to come to the hospital right away, their conditions are quite serious." Jackie then dropped the phone and began crying beside Donna. How much heartache were they going to have to deal with?


	4. Chapter 4

I love doing drama pieces. I hope u r enjoying this and please review if u want more. : )

Well enjoy and review.

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Donna rushed to the hospital with Jackie at her side. Regardless of the angry feelings Jackie with Hyde before, those seemed to have disappeared when she found out what happened. Neither Donna nor Jackie told Kitty, they were afraid that if they told her, they would be practically pushing her into a grave as well, so they told Laurie to keep watch over her and left. 

Donna ran over to the nurses station, the nurse sitting there looked completely bored and half asleep. Donna smacked the desk hard, causing the nurse to jump, the nurse turned to glare at Donna. "Can I help you?"

Donna ignored the irritated tone in her voice. "Yeah, I'm looking for Eric Forman's room."

Jackie ran up, she had just finished parking the car. "I want to see Steven Hyde as well please."

The nurse looked down at her books and sighed. "Friend or family?"

"I am Eric Forman's fiancee." The nurse gave Donna a look. "Kind of young to be engaged aren't ya?"

Donna shook her head, her red hair falling across her tearstained face, she didn't have time to get into that right then.

Jackie seemed to think a moment before speaking. "I am Steven's girlfriend." Donna looked at Jackie, but said nothing.

"I'm sorry, but Eric Forman is in emergency right now and is unable to see anyone at the moment, however Steven Hyde is in room 2231 on the sixth floor."

Donna felt like her heart had just been ripped out, how bad had Eric been hurt? Jackie put her arm around Donna's shoulders and they both walked over and got into the elevator to go see Hyde.

Hyde lay on his back, he hurt all over and his mind was blurry. What had happened? He heard the sound of a beeping machine and opened his eyes to see that he was in a hospital room.

He tried to sit up but gasped in pain, so he just laid back. Why couldn't he remember what had happened, what stupid thing had he done to end up in the hospital?

He heard a door open and was able to turn his head to see two girls walk into his room. One had long red hair and was really hot, the other was a petite black haired girl that although he didn't know who she was, made his heart beat faster just by looking at her worried face.

"Steven, oh my God, are you alright?" The black haired girl asked.

He looked around saw that no one else was in the room, so she had to be asking him, so his name was Steven, ok. "Uh yeah, I'm fine, considering I'm in a freakin hospital and I don't know why."

Both girls looked at each other, then the red head spoke. "Wait, you don't remember falling off Cemetery Ledge?"

He shook his head a little, as much as he could without the pain setting in. The black haired girl walked over and took his hand in hers gently, causing his heart to jump. "Oh Steven, I was so worried about you, can you ever forgive me for playing with your heart on the camping trip."

He squeezed her hand gently. "I would if I could, except I have no idea what you are talking about?"

Jackie gasped and let go of his hand. "Steven, tell me my name."

His mind felt so hazy, but he couldn't comply. "I'm sorry, I can't."

Donna was in complete awe. This was all too much to handle, Eric could be dying for all she knew and Hyde had amnesia, what next, Jackie finds out she has an evil twin?

Jackie sat down beside him. "I'm Jackie, I am...was your girlfriend."

"Was?"

Donna intervened before Jackie could explain that. "That's not important right now Hyde."

"Wait, I thought my name was Steven." He was becoming thoroughly confused.

"Uh, whatever, just listen." Then Donna began recounting about Red's death, Eric's run from the funeral, and then getting the call about it all.

Suddenly the door opened and a tall doctor walked in, he seemed surprised to see Donna and Jackie there. "Excuse me ladies, I just came in to see about Mr Hyde."

"How is Eric, is he going to be alright?" If the doctor noticed the desperate tone in Donna's face, he didn't say anything about it. "Young Mr. Forman is in recovery right now, his arm is broken in three places and he suffered a fractured skull, we are going to have to keep him here for a while."

"Can I go see him please?"

"You can, though he won't be awake, he is under heavy sedatives."

"I don't care." Donna was out the door in a flash, though she came in a few seconds. "Maybe I should wait till you show me where it is."

The doctor smiled. "I believe that would be a good idea Miss."

"Um Doctor, why doesn't Steven remember me?"

"Well he suffered severe head trauma, memory loss is not uncommon, though it can be temporary and go away in a few days." He then turned and escorted Donna to where Eric lay.

* * *

Donna walked into the room, the lights were dim and the only sounds she could hear where that of the respirator and Eric's soft breathing. He looked horrible, his arm in a large cast hanging above him and his head all bandaged up. She pulled a chair up next to his bed and gently put her hand in his good hand, stroking his hand gently. "Come on Eric."

This was all too much, a fresh string of tears fell from Donna's eyes as she watched the man she loved lay there. She felt put her hand to her stomach and whispered. "I can't do this alone, we need you Eric." She closed her eyes and gently rested her head against his chest, falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.


	5. Chapter 5

I am soooo sorry it took me so long, complications and such. Well now that I am back writing I will be updating a lot quicker now. I thank you all for your reviews.

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Eric's head throbbed horribly as he finally came to. He felt like he had been run over a couple hundred times by Kelso's van and he was groggy to boot. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself in a hospital room, what had he done now? His arm was throbbing almost as bad as his head and he couldn't move an inch without feeling savage pain all over. Last thing he remembered was slipping off the cemetary ledge, then he blacked out. He heard soft breathing and looked down to find Donna asleep with her head on his stomach, tear stains on her cheeks.

"Donna?" Eric said softly, his voice came out sort of harsh, more like a crow's voice and his speech was slightly slurred. He tried again to wake Donna up, after the second try Donna stirred. She raised her head slowly and her eyes lit up when she saw that Eric had woken up. She wanted to throw her arms around him and necer let go, but that may cause him too much pain at the moment, so she settled for a long kiss.

Once she pulled back though, she smacked him semi hard in his good arm. "Ow Donna, what was that for?"

"That was for scaring the hell out of me." Donna smiled and kissed him again.

When she pulled back that time, Eric looked at her for a moment. "Are you going to hit me again, cause as much as I love your kisses about now..."

Donna laughed and shook her head, she was so happy that Eric was awake, his words were slurred slightly, but other then that and his arm, he seemed fine. "Eric, do you remember what happened?"

Eric nodded his head as much as he could so not to hurt his head or neck. "I took a dive off the cliff." That's when he realized something. "Oh my God, is Hyde ok?"

Donna bit her lip and sat at the foot of his bed. "Eric, Hyde suffered a really bad concussion, he lost his memory."

Eric felt so horrible. Yet again someone had gotten hurt all because of him. If Eric hadn't run off after the funeral, none of this would have happened. He needed to apologize to Hyde, though it wouldn't make things better, it was the right thing to do.

Donna saw the look on Eric's face and decided she wouldn't allow Eric to beat himself more for something that had happened, it was in the past and beating himself up about it now was not the way to go about things. "Eric, you need to get better so that you can get out of this hospital, the Doctor said that Hyde's condition was only temporary." Donna knew that was a half lie, the Doctor had said it _might_ be temporary, but Eric didn't need to know that now.

Eric seemed to believe it though and looked up at her, a different look on his face, a thoughtful one. "What?" She asked.

"When where you going to tell me?"

Donna was confused, what was he...Oh was she going to kill Hyde later, obviously Hyde had told Eric about her being pregnant. "I was going to tell you after Graduation was over, but then all this happened and I couldn't tell you."

Eric was torn between the happiness he felt of becoming a father and the pain of loss of his own father, what if he screwed up his kid's life? He didn't know if he was even ready to become a father, but ready or not, here it came. "What are we going to do?"

Donna looked down at him, never had she seen him so vulnerable and scared. "We are going to take this one step at a time." She turned when she heard a knock on the door, the Doctor had come to check on Eric.

"Well, I see our patient has finally decided to wake up." Donna stood to her feet. "How long will he have to be here?"

"Well he has just woken up, give us some time to evaluate him and I will give you an answer possibly tomorrow." Although Donna didn't like that, she couldn't really argue about it either, she simply nodded, too worn out to argue.

The Doctor stepped out of the way so some nurses could walk in. "We need to run some tests on Mr. Forman right now, so can you please step out?"

Donna leaned down and gave Eric a quick kiss before walking out of the room. She was so relieved that Eric seemed to be fine, now she would just go and check on Jackie and Hyde.

* * *

Hyde looked up at Jackie and listened to everything she said, though all he could really think was. _Damn she is hot._ She told him everything that had happened since they supposedly began going out. Whoever this Kelso guy was, he was a complete moron and would get his ass kicked later.

When she mentioned the death of someone named Red Forman, he felt a twinge of sorrow inside him. He must have really been close to this Red guy. Also, after he got out of the hospital bed, memory or not, he was going to throttle Eric Forman. It was because of Eric that he no longer remembered who he even was, how the hell could he forgive something like that.

He heard the door open and saw the red head enter the room. Jackie walked over and gave her friend a hug without even asking. Donna gladly accepted the hug, Hyde wondered for a moment how it went with Eric. Then Donna smiled and walked over to Hyde. "How are ya feelin Hyde, remember anything?"

"Hate to disappoint, but not a thing." Donna sighed, thoroughly disappointed, Eric was going to be ok, so why not Hyde as well.

"Don't worry Steven, it will take some time, but it will come back." Jackie sounded like the hyper cheerleader she usually was, though there was tension in her voice.

Jackie turned to Donna. "Good news is, the doctors are going to let Steven out tomorrow afternoon."

"That's great Jackie, hopefully something will trigger his memory, I am going to stay here with Eric until they let him out too."

Jackie nodded and sat back down next to Hyde's bed. Donna thought it was a nice sight, Jackie genuinely loved Hyde, it was plain to see. She left the room to get some air, her head was hurting really bad and she figured it was from all the stress of that day. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall, she couldn't believe the whopper of a headache she had then and was starting to get scared.

She was feeling so dizzy that she thought she was going to pass out. _Well, I am in ther perfect place to pass out._ She thought to herself. She pressed a hand to her stomach and closed her eyes, the pain came as she fell to the ground and her world went black.


End file.
